MA in Electoral Policies and Administration

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About the Program

Since the 1970s, the use of elections as tools for determining and managing electoral policy governance and deciding societal issues has expanded globally. In less than five decades, 81 countries have taken significant steps toward democracy; 57 percent of the world’s population lives under democratic governance, and elections are held in 140 countries worldwide. This rapid spread of elections as tools for electoral policy governance and its expansion and broadening of popular participation in governance and decision-making has direct implications for political systems, as elections are often seen as a political bridge from a power struggle or an authoritarian regime to a form of democratic governance, participation, and political pluralism. Accordingly, the idea of ​​launching the program came to enrich theoretical and methodological knowledge about elections, their methods and the rules governing them, along with enriching practical practice by linking theory and application in a way that enhances specialized understanding of the electoral process and its cycles, in addition to learning about electoral systems and how to manage them and their policies. This program includes the theoretical aspect and is in the form of weekly lectures in which two types of compulsory and optional courses are offered related to the scientific and methodological research skills aspect in its qualitative and quantitative aspects.

Vision

The program contributes to promoting the university at the local, regional and international levels in terms of providing a clear vision and a systematic and scientific treatment of election management under the supervision of a specialized teaching staff, so that the program attracts students from various institutions, organizations and related workplaces, whether at the local level or at the regional and international levels. The program is expected to contribute to achieving the strategic vision of the university, which adopts the diversity of its programs and keeping up with the latest developments in the field of knowledge as a way to advance scientific research and improve opportunities to attract students from different countries of the world.

The mission

Professional election management depends on a cadre of knowledgeable, well-trained managers who are able to meet the challenges of this large-scale process. However, unlike other areas of public administration, there are relatively few opportunities for advanced professional education in the field of electoral management – ​​especially at the international level. The Master’s Degree in Electoral Politics and Administration (MEPA) aims to make a global contribution to the professionalization of electoral administration, through an approach that enhances the academic dimension and the practical dimension based on practice. This proposal is designed to create a Master’s Degree in “Elections and Voting as Tools of Government” for electoral policies and administration, which provides an introduction to the guiding principles of electoral government and focuses on the fundamentals of elections and voting and the laws regulating this process, as well as studying what is related to electoral propaganda and electoral law, with the aim of building and developing a specialized field of knowledge in the field of elections in terms of theoretical frameworks and practical applications. More specifically, the program offers the following: (1) A narrative of the history of Electoral Policy and Practice

(2) An overview of the elements and components of the electoral process and the relationships between them

(3) An analytical framework for developing skills in electoral policy-making, management and evaluation

Program objectives

1- Raising the level of the electoral program and research in all stages of the electoral policy process by building cognitive capacities based on scientific research, critical thinking and analysis for workers in fields related to the electoral process and its policies.

2- Empowering females who will join the program to achieve the desired leadership role for them in society by being decision-makers to participate in the electoral process.

3- Strengthening research partnerships in the electoral process and state institutions for the public and private sectors.

4- Activating and supporting the innovation centers and research centers in the institute and enhancing the participation of faculty and students in them.

5- Enhancing students’ ability to produce evidence-based knowledge and use it to bring about positive change in the field of electoral policies

6- Improving the local labor market by providing it with graduates who have the skills and competencies that qualify them to participate in decision-making and policies.

7- Participation in the teaching process and development of the academic path in local official universities by graduates of the program.